Update of the distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae, Caprini) in Tunisia
-
Jamel Ben Mimoun
,
Jorge Cassinello
Abstract
The distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia in Tunisia is reported. The species occupies rocky craggy terrain from 334 to 1544 m in three main habitat types: forests of the Tunisian dorsal, steppes in the mountain ranges of central Tunisia, and desert tabular heights in the south of the country. Five populations are currently subject to monitoring in Tunisia, the most stable ones living free-ranging at the Chambi National Park and in captivity at the Nature Reserve Oued Dekouk. The whole country population does not exceed 700–800 individuals, severely fragmented and mainly located in protected areas. Poaching and loss of forage and habitat due to overgrazing by domestic animals are the main threats of Tunisian aoudads. Following the IUCN criteria it should be classified as Endangered (EN) B1. The sustainability of aoudad populations basically depends on the long-term viability of protected areas and the establishment of urgent conservation measures, including reintroductions and the prevention of poaching and overgrazing by domestic animals.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the Tunisian forest managers for their understanding and for facilitating the access of JBM to protected areas, as well as park employees for their voluntary collaboration.
References
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©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Phylogeny explains better than ecology or body size the variation of the first lower molar in didelphid marsupials
- Morphology and mitochondrial gene divergence in Hipposideros armiger armiger occurs only in China
- Subspecies differentiation of the house mouse Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 in the center and east of the Iranian plateau and Afghanistan
- Biogeography and conservation of non-volant mammals from the Urucum Mountains: a Chiquitano dry forest ecoregion in western Brazil
- Update of the distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae, Caprini) in Tunisia
- Geographical variation in the body size of adult female sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) – an example of McNab’s resource rule?
- Short Notes
- Estimated population size of two South American sea lion male haulouts from the northern coast of Argentina
- A first view of the unseen: nests of an endangered Atlantic Forest rat species
- Predation upon small mammals by Caluromys lanatus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) and Callithrix penicillata (Primates: Callitrichidae) in the Brazilian savanna
- Forest surveys extend the range of the Krau woolly bat (Kerivoula krauensis) in the Malay-Thai Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra
- A reflection on recent trends in wildlife protection in Italy stemming from the question of the Montecristo wild goat
- Eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger, Linnaeus 1758) introduction to the Sonoran Desert
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Original Studies
- Phylogeny explains better than ecology or body size the variation of the first lower molar in didelphid marsupials
- Morphology and mitochondrial gene divergence in Hipposideros armiger armiger occurs only in China
- Subspecies differentiation of the house mouse Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 in the center and east of the Iranian plateau and Afghanistan
- Biogeography and conservation of non-volant mammals from the Urucum Mountains: a Chiquitano dry forest ecoregion in western Brazil
- Update of the distribution and status of the aoudad Ammotragus lervia (Bovidae, Caprini) in Tunisia
- Geographical variation in the body size of adult female sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) – an example of McNab’s resource rule?
- Short Notes
- Estimated population size of two South American sea lion male haulouts from the northern coast of Argentina
- A first view of the unseen: nests of an endangered Atlantic Forest rat species
- Predation upon small mammals by Caluromys lanatus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) and Callithrix penicillata (Primates: Callitrichidae) in the Brazilian savanna
- Forest surveys extend the range of the Krau woolly bat (Kerivoula krauensis) in the Malay-Thai Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra
- A reflection on recent trends in wildlife protection in Italy stemming from the question of the Montecristo wild goat
- Eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger, Linnaeus 1758) introduction to the Sonoran Desert
